When Money Floats

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Every now and then, karma blows favorably in my direction. Once when I was swimming in the ocean, I spied money glistening in the sun, bobbing towards me. Twenty bucks landed in the palm of my hand. Yeah, that’s how it happened. Doubtful anyone would attempt to reclaim the cash, I accepted it as a gift. My lucky day. I was a kid, and I thought I had won the lottery.

It’s not everyday someone gives you twenty bucks. How do you think that would go over if someone decided to slap a twenty in your hand? First, you would probably hesitate, consider it, especially if you happen to really need it, but then you would probably outright reject it. No, I can’t. Even though twenty bucks doesn’t get too much these days, it still might seem a generous amount to receive and not pay back. If you do need it, you may not want to seem like a charity case. Of course, everything changes if your life depends on it. I’m not making light of that.

But what about a five spot? The other night, I noticed a five dollar bill on the grocery store floor. Hmm. Oh, money! I paused, and then picked it up. I couldn’t really ignore it. What if the guy who just passed me dropped it?

So, did he? I asked him.

“Did you drop five bucks?” I immediately tuned in to his tranquil, blue eyes.

With a smile, he laughed. “No. It wasn’t me.”

I was a bit disappointed, because the mystery of what to do with the five bucks was still in my domain. I almost wanted to just give him the money.

“What do you think I should do with it?” I asked him.

“You could return it to customer service,” he nodded in the general direction. “Or…you could keep it,” he whispered.

“I didn’t ask for options,” I mumbled and laughed, and walked toward the direction he indicated. Then I stopped in my tracks and analyzed the situation.

I could buy the gelato that was $4.99 that I passed on. Was this a sign? The Mediterranean Mint was calling my name. It could be extra gas money. I could give it to the store employee who once confided in me that she was hungry, and was even denied Rotisserie chicken, that on account of law, was thrown away on the premises even though it could have been good eats, for her specifically. Would she be offended if I offered it to her?

What if someone is wandering around in the store and is really missing the five bucks? What if his/her dinner depended upon it? I could wander the aisles looking for a person rummaging through his/her pockets. If I don’t find this person, I’m sure I could simply give the money to someone who needs it more than me. The free, lost money needs a home.

Or…I could turn it in at customer service.

My Libra mind disintegrates when faced with endless possibilities. Later at the register, blue eyes looked in my direction. “What did you do?” he asked.

So, what did I do? How do you think this played out? Want to take a guess? Do you think I have regrets?

Did I turn the money in to customer service? Did I track down the hungry employee? Buy gelato?

One Libra to another, the options stress me out. If I had to guess, I’d say you walked out with it then immediately gave it someone who looked like they needed it more?
I worked at a dry cleaners for a while as a teenager. Part of that job included rummaging through pockets for forgotten items before cleaning, including money. The in store rule was anything less than $20 we could keep, but anything more had to be returned to the customer. But even that stressed me out–I always felt like I was robbing the person of the joy of finding random laundry money and my karma would be unbalanced if I kept anything.

Rachelle, of course, you are a Libra! That’s why you are so cool!! I’m going to reveal my answer tomorrow on my blog. I’m so enjoying reading everyone’s answers. I wouldn’t want to spoil it for anyone just yet. So, stay tuned.
That is a most interesting guideline you had at the dry cleaners. I, too, would find fault keeping someone’s surprise money to myself. Isn’t it one of the best things to find money in your pant pockets? It feels like a gift even though in actuality it’s your money to begin with! Thanks for sharing!

I think you bought the gelato. BUT, Blue Eyes asking you the question ignited the guilt trip … so you either turned it into customer service or gave it to the employee … and you were stuck buying the gelato.

We libras have a hard time making decisions eh? and that being said I have no idea. I probably would have given it to the hungry employee or hung out to see if anyone was frantically looking for the five dollars. There have been plenty of times that was the only money that I would have had in my pocket…
I am not sure customer service would be honest and not pocket the money themselves. I am cynical yes.
But then again.. gelato is a sweet treat. UGH.. see no decisions

That IS a dilemma. It’s so much worse not knowing who lost it… because that would have made things so much easier!
This does remind me of one of the wildest things I ever saw. I was at work (early, so it was just me and one of my bosses), when he buzzed me on the phone, obviously excited about something and told me, ‘Hey, Robert… run and look out the window! Quickly!’. So I did. Outside, in the street below us and across from a bank was an armored truck driver… chasing TONS of bills that had SOMEHOW gotten away from him and were blowing around EVERYWHERE. I was just kind of stunned. People were driving up, grabbing handfuls and taking off. Then my other boss arrived and started running around trying to help the guy recover some of it. It was one of the wildest things I’ve ever seen. 🙂

Oh, my God! Robert, that is a wild story. I can just envision it. That money was just bursting to be free. A handful of bills, I’m so there, grabbing that money!! That is some floating money to be sure. I’m thinking the driver probably lost his job, huh?! Too funny. Thanks for sharing your story with me!

I’m not sure what happened to the driver, but I’m sure it wasn’t good. After my boss called me he came up stairs and we just stood by the window watching… that’s pretty much what he said, too… ‘Oh, man… somebody’s going to get fired’!
🙂

There is a sort of magic about found money. It’s funny, since last week I was riding my bike and found a 50,000 won note (about $45) on the ground. I kept it, since there wasn’t anyone obvious to turn it in to, plus I didn’t think anyone would go to the police station and report that much missing. I felt good, although I felt bad for the person who had lost it.

I wonder if you stood around looking to see if anyone looked like they were looking for $5!

I saw a guy drop $20 out of his pocket – I ran behind him (silently) and stepped on it… he turned to the left to go to a store and his companion went straight – I asked companion if he lost money – the companion said “no” – so then I found the guy that dropped it and asked him if he lost money – he checked his pockets and said “no”… so I kept it… and I felt a little guilty b/c I saw him drop it…but I was 17… and stupid 🙂

Well, I say you earned that one, Denise! That money was a good as yours since you made such a valiant effort. Brava! It’s not your fault he can’t keep tract of his money. Guess he didn’t need it so much. I’m usually pretty aware of $20 on my person.

Hee hee… I felt kind of weird about it – once I found $60 in a kid’s plastic ‘make up’ bag on the grounds of a church – I was running w/ my baby to the park – I looked for someone in the church offices – but no one was about … so I took it as a sign from the universe that I should use that for Xmas money (it was in December) since we were low on funds. hee hee.. .I can justify anything

Hee hee…too funny. Karma is working for you! This is just an example here of that. You needed it, and there it was! Plus, once again you tried to deliver the money to someone else, and it came back to you, Denise. So yours, once again! Clearly.

Not a Libra, but options stress me out too. Option 1 or 2? Oh no there’s an option 3? Ahhh!!!
I think you gave the money to someone. I wouldn’t have had the courage to go up to the employee, but I probably would have gone outside and given it to someone that looked like they needed it……….and then bought some gelato, just because. 🙂

This past weekend, we found an iPhone laying on a chair in a furniture store. We picked it up and looked around for someone who might be looking for it. No one in sight. My husband tried to get information off the phone, but it had a password. My son, who is begging for a phone said, “It’s my lucky day!” at which point we explained that the right thing to do was to turn it in to a store employee. In my mind, I knew that store employee may keep it for themselves and that really bothered me. However, when my son expressed the same suspicion, we further explained that regardless of what choice the employee made, we would know that we had done the right thing. And, that’s really all that mattered. Don’t think I didn’t eye the employee suspiciously though as I handed it over. lol

I’m going to guess you gave it to customer service so the decision was in someone else hands.

An iPhone! Ooohh…that’s like gold, that’s someone’s complete life, isn’t it? My son wants an iPhone 5. He’s not quite getting that, although I’d consider a phone. That’s a scary thought. I don’t blame you for not trusting the employee, but totally get that you’d set a good example. It almost seems like you have no choice in the matter. Am I right?

Just the fact that you mulled it over so much tells me you probably turned it into customer service. I’ve done the same thing. I think acts like that still count in this world, don’t you? At the very least, we’re modeling good behavior for our kids. 🙂

I am married to a Libra. I’ll agree with Miss Wordy and Carrie. Lady Justice would ask you to return it to customer service ice. And thus deliver the responsibility into someone else’s hands. Micromanaging karma is a tricky practice. Yay for Amy’s return to Blogville.
Love,
Shalagh

Thanks for the welcome mat, Shalagh. I am back. I know I kind of faded in and out this summer! That is so well put…micromanaging karma…I wonder if we should even bother. When you put it that way, I have a totally different perspective. I will reveal tomorrow in a follow-up. You can check your answer then!
Love,
Amy

I’m not sure actually what you chose to do in the end, but if you did keep it or buy yourself the gelato then I’m sure you would have felt guilty about it! I would have given it to customer service without hesitation, and I’m not saying that in any judgmental way against you or anyone who would do different, but I have two reasons for this – 1) I would wonder if there was a CCTV camera watching me pick it up, and 2) A couple of years ago my son dropped a £10 note in a store, and we went back a few hours later to ask the customer services if anyone had handed one in – they hadn’t, but I thought at the time about how happy my son would have been if they had!

I was in a grocery store and pulled a bag for my veggies and it was so long and, as I couldn’t find the opening, I considered I may be on Candid Camera. And yes, a child’s ten pound note would be worth so much more!

I’m so sad about your son, Vanessa! Oh, dang it! That would have made his day if it was there waiting. I had not considered cameras, but I’m sure they’re around somewhere in that store. Aren’t they everywhere?!

I’m going to tell you tomorrow. Promise…P.S. You’re on the right track!

I once found a wallet left at a phone booth in a truck stop. Years ago when they still had phone booths. It had 500 in it. I wanted to give it to the store clerk or call the person on the DL. My ex, notice I DID say ex, decided to keep it and did. I always felt guilty and still do to this day, my ex was a dickhead, and still is to this day.

I think you first looked for someone who you thought might need it and not having any luck you turned it in to customer service. As a reward for being a good soul you bought the gelato as a reward . 🙂

Jackie, I would have had a hard time keeping that money, especially if it was attached to a name. It’s no wonder that guy is your ex! You know when something doesn’t feel right. It’s usually best to go with your gut.

Oh, Amy, this is a toughie! Knowing you and how much integrity you have, I’m guessing you turned it in to customer service. As for me, I’ve never been lucky enough to stumble across any money.
Once I found a brand new nail polish in my grocery bag. I knew I didn’t purchase it, so what did I do? Walked back in to Target and returned the polish at the service counter. I missed it for a brief second and then the yearning quickly disappeared. The beautiful coral polish was never mine to begin with.

Hmmm… Found cash is a toughie. Anything like a phone, wallet, etc. are easy – turn them in to customer service or call the person. But cash – I’d probably just keep it and buy the gelato. Especially since there didn’t seem to be anyone around looking for it. I’m waiting for the answer Amy…

I’m late to this, but I’ll have you know I did not cheat and read your current post first. I wanted to come to this one fresh. I’m going to say you kept the fiver and bought the gelato, Honeybee. It’s what I would do, anyway. Five bucks isn’t such a big deal, twenty bucks is more so. I would have had some difficulty in figuring out what to do as well, but after weighing my options, I would have kept it UNLESS I managed to find whoever lost it. Turning it in to customer service, in my mind, would be akin to giving someone in customer service five bucks for them to keep.

Madame, it’s never too late for me. Oh, so good of you not to cheat. Haha. Five bucks, it’s like the new dollar. Is it not? You hardly notice if you have it all. I get very wishy washy when I’m PMSing. That’s what happened here I think. But yes, exactly! I felt like I was giving my money back to the corporation. I felt like I kind of cheated myself. My friend Shalagh said it well. She said you can’t micromanage karma. But who knows, maybe someone really needed it and got it back.

The waiting (hmm, isn’t that a blog? 😉 ) would be hard if I’d been up to date with my posts, but I love the premise. I haven’t read the answer yet, but can’t wait. I get all twisted in knots about this stuff too… I’m a Capricorn. I have found money, and I’ve lost money. I generally try to find the owner, and have turned it in… but always think (cynically) that the lost and found person will pocket it. I thin for $20, I’d keep it. For $5, definitely… then, because I believe in karma, I’d do something nice with at least half of it.

Dawn, I’m usually an indecisive person. That is my nature, and when I’m hormonal, it’s worse! I laugh now because that’s what was going on. Funny, if I hadn’t talked to blue eyes, I probably would have kept it. Ha! In the end, it’s only five bucks so you can’t stress over it that much. Right?! It’s like the new dollar.

I’m horribly indecisive too! I would have gone back and forth as well, but a blue eye guy would fluster me and I would be confused and all turned around… actually, that’s kind of how I ended up married.